We're on Deviant Art!

Hey there folks, Doctor Xiox here...

I've been trying my hand with Photoshop and Warhammer, and its turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

So here is my favorite tank, in all her visual glory. I've used inspiration from Forgeworld pictures and from other Deviant Art artists to conjure the idea.

For a larger image visit: http://drxiox.deviantart.com/art/Gospel-of-the-Apocalypse-467492653

Stay tuned for more photomanipulations! You can also visit my Deviant Art profile to see them in higher resolutions, and much more of my random stuff there: http://drxiox.deviantart.com/

(shameless self-promotion? maybe, but I'm sure you'll like it if you liked the above picture ^^

I'll try to churn these out as much as I can if you enjoy them!

Warhammer 40k Book Review: Cold Blood by David Guymer

Cold Blood: An Apocalypse Short Story by David Guymer

Hey folks, Doctor Xiox here,

I picked up Cold Blood the other day, and upon noticing it was only 33 pages - did not initially establish very high expectations of it. But oh how wrong I would be.

To start with, Guymer really knows how to write from the perspective of a Chaos Space Marine. Chainaxes? Tick. Bolt pistols? Tick. Overuse of the word "blood"? Tick. 

However it is this repetition of the insatiable thirst for violence of the traitor marines truly embodies how crude they have become. And yet, perhaps the most satisfying moment of the short story is how these blood lusting behemoths are actually malnourished from the lack of it. Without spoiling too much of the story, the Chaos Space Marines of the Bloodlords land upon a desolate moon of Ixus IX save for one location which seems to be Imperial. 

Of course, the next most logical step for any loyal follower of the Blood God is to assault said outpost with fury and raze it to the ground, cackling in maniacal laughter as blood seeps through the streets beneath his feet. (I think the heretic within got the better of me for that sentence).

Anyhow, the Bloodlords are initially surprised to meet no resistance... Yes, the Chaos Space Marines assault an outpost that seems completely abandoned... Or so they thought. General rule of thumb for all things 40k, just when everything is going under control, always expect something to turn the tide against you. Especially on the tabletop (curse the dice gods).

And without spoiling too much, they meet an ancient foe who just can't bleed and is the very face of death itself. They are not called by their name throughout the short story but you can guess who they are - let's face it, nobody else zaps you with gauss guns. And without spoiling the plot, expect blood curdling clashes between the Chaos Space Marines and Necrons - a fierce fight to the death between two enemies of the Imperium. 

This is perhaps the first time I've heard of a CSM vs. Necron encounter, and for me thats pretty swell. It's lovely to see two different races - albeit neither of which we can easily empathise with - interact with one another and I do think David Guymer deserves to be applauded for that fact. I'm also loving this particularly because I'm about to play a narrative campaign with my Chaos Space Marines against my friend's Necrons.

My only criticism is that we aren't given enough description and action of the Lord of Skulls that was teased on the cover. In fact, it's teased throughout the whole book, but only really revealed at the climax. I was hoping for more, but of course there's only so much you can expect from a short story. But it is packed with Michael Bay-esque action sequences, and for a 30 page or so story it's well worth your time.

Anyways here's a link so you can all purchase it online @ Black Library:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/cold_blood.html

Hope you enjoyed this review and look out for more on its way!

Doctor Xiox

The War of Srophloius VI: A 40k Campaign - Necrons v.s. Astra Militarum 2600 points Apocalypse

Hey guys, Doctor Xiox here....

So for some time now, me and a friend have been playing a campaign between an awakening necron force and the Imperial Guard deployed to combat them. We've titled it The Battle of Srophloius VI.  So far, so good.... for me. Lol, albeit my friend is a novice, but he wants to enjoy 40k for the spectacle and not the competitive aspect; something I find increasingly rare these days.

Previously in the campaign, we played various missions where small forces of necrons awoke to strip the world above of all life. We began with small games where the Imperial Forces were dug in, as Necrons continued to advance on their positions. Raids were conducted on manufactorums, mining deposits and a munition storage. Luckily for the Astra Militarum, the full might of the Necrons was not brought to bear and the small contingents were often quickly struck down through their overwhelming firepower - and yet each encounter became tougher and tougher. Eventually, despite the veterancy of the Xioxians, they knew such victories were at best transitory. It was only because they awoke not more than two weeks ago that the necrons had not come out in full strength. However, an Inquisitor has opted for another strategy - one which would throw a wrench in the plans of these ancient warriors.

He has therefore asked that I don't go through a turn by turn summary for this post and I have agreed. Apologies on his behalf for the unpainted necrons, he has only recently acquired them and I don't blame him for not painting them yet either. Please note that many are also proxied models since he doesn't have an entire force yet. The Imperial Guard has successfully managed to thwart the Necrons at every corner, wiping them out or capturing the objectives. We've had tons of fun so far and now we've come to the final battle of our campaign. So here goes the narrative for this battle...

The Imperial Guard has cornered the Necrons, located in a small desolated town. Once a minor mining site, the town has since gone silent once the rumors of necrons started spreading. Although the Imperial Guard have suffered some heavy casualties along the way, this final assault will determine if they get to leave this wretched battlefield and who emerges victorious over the planet Srophloius VI for once and for all. For this final mission, the Imperial Guard has been requisitioned by an Ordos Xenos Inquisitor to extract a particular relic that has intrigued the Inquisition. Months ago, an obsidian prism-like structure was extracted by the miners from the very small town the Necrons are currently holding. Whether it is a weapon or an artefact of great importance remains to be seen and the Inquisitor is very much surprised that it has drawn the attention of several overlords, let alone an entire Necron Court. The Imperium must act fast before whatever this relic holds or unlocks is unleashed or utilised by the awakened xenos.

Unknown to the Imperial forces, the artefact itself housed the warscythe of Truilyn the Restless and was key to accelerating the awakening of the remaining forces that slumbered beneath the planet. However, the planet's Necron Royal Court of lords and the overlord were vastly outnumbered, and with their strength focused on channelling forsaken magical energies into the artefact, it was left to their escort of lynchguards, immortals and Crypteks to defiantly hold their ground. A doomscythe, anhilation barge and ghost ark were also present - delivering even more relentless forms of firepower to the fray. Even then, the Imperial forces vastly outnumbered the barely awoken necrons. From the battles that they had previously waged, they knew they stood little chance against the Xioxian Armoured might - but should the necrons successfully acquire their desired relic, the tides will definately turn. 

For the Imperial Guard, they have expended a vast amount of resources over this campaign - and although emerging victorious through all their confrontations with the small resistance of necrons so far, they have proved to be a formidable foe. Numerous vehicles and men have been lost in the attacks and few have survived the wrath of gauss weaponry to tell the tale. Now, the last elements of the Xioxian Astra Militarum are closing their grasp on the town for an all out siege on the dug in Necron Court and their consort of immortals, warriors and wraiths. Victory here means they finally getto leave this godforsaken wasteland to its metallic menace and replenish supplies whilst the Inquisition gives the command for an Exterminatus to be carried out on the planet. Failing that, the artefact could unleash devastating forces upon the entire sector and the Xioxian 10th will be destroyed - for there is to be no retreat from this confrontation. From here on out, it is winner take all.

To portray this last stand, we decided to go with the Pincer Attack deployment in the Apocalypse rulebook. We had the necrons defending and my imperial guard attacking. We made a city like board in order to replicate the mining town.

So here was our deployment. I managed to take the initiative and went ahead with my tanks. Here are some pics i captures with my ipad that day. 

Eventually the battle commenced. The Imperial Guard tanks fired wildly and necron gauss weaponry returned fire. I won't go through what happened each turn so this post is a bit more condensed than usual - but picture heavy.

Some cinematic poses - these moments didn't really happen:

Eventually I was able to eliminate the vast majority of his forces by turn four by sniping his proxied immortals holding onto the relic, with the baneblade tipping the tide. Sure it wasn't balanced but then again we just laughed our asses off the whole day an enjoyed having a great time. Narrative campaigns are amazing, and it truly gives you that epic feeling you would get from immersing yourself in a black library novel. I really enjoyed this game, and so did he and maybe at the end of the day even if we will never have a balanced 40k then so be it - did we have fun? If the answer is yes, then maybe that is all that really matters. So back to the narrative.

So the final assault of the imperial guard armour paid off. The necron forces were caught off guard by the pincer strike on the small  town of Serabris, pinned down by a sustained barrage of heavy fire. Though the necrons' own retaliatory strikes scored a few hits on the Imperial force, it was too few to make an impact. The Imperial forces had struck from afar, crippling the necrons with overwhelming powerful weapons until only the royal court stood standing. Interrupting the channelling process, the Royal Court turned their attention to their armoured assailants. But by then, it was too late. One by one the lords finally fell to their knees and for once, they were the ones being exterminated. Such was the damage inflicted upon them that their self- repair mechanisms could not keep pace. They were pummelled by lasgun fire, meltagun fire, lascannon fire and tank round after round even as they tried to reassemble themselves. The remaining necron were obliterated in the undying fury of an entire regiment. As the last overlord collapsed to the ground, their metallic fragments were consumed by a bright emerald light and as one they disappeared. The living can claim their trophy and deny them their relic, but like all mortals - their time will come.

The unnamed mysterious Ordos Xenos Inquisitor was most pleased later that day as the Imperial Guard handed the relic over and sought their assistance in continuing her ambiguous motives in the Sector. Although defeated for now, any Inquisitor knows that a world harboring necrons lasts not more than a month after the first encounter. Thus, it was by her hand that the planet Srophloius VI would be given the treatment of Exterminatus - for better or for worse. As she departed the world along with her requisitioned detachment of Imperial Guard, she knew that even with the mysterious necron artifact, this would not be the last they saw of them. If not on this world, then perhaps the next.

Thanks guys,

Let us know what you think!

Doctor Xiox

Codex: Space Marines coming around the corner!

Great news folks,

Word has it that the Robert Cruddice, author of the Imperial Guard Codex, is writing the upcoming Space Marine Codex due sometime next month.

King Tiger Wargaming got a few snippets of the new releases from an anonymous source as well, here is a glimpse at what you can expect:

Ok so this looks to be a new release of Centurion Assault and Devastator suits. I currently do not know what they are used for or how they may be used but regardless they don't seem to be very aesthetically appealing. At least I don't think so but DaemonicWargamer may say otherwise. They look like the bastard child of a dreadnought and a terminator armoured marine but a little bit more clanky... Looks a bit like something from the 80s... Cartoon show um... Damn the name escapes me but never mind...

Here's a possible list of upcoming weaponry these guys "could" be equipped with (Courtesy of BOLS):

Graviton Gun: 18" S:* AP:4 Heavy1, Blast, Concussion, Graviton Pulse, Haywire

Graviton Cannon: 36" S:* AP:4 Heavy1, LargeBlast, Concussion, Graviton Pulse, Haywire

Graviton Pulse: Instead of rolling to wound normally with this weapon, any model caught in its blast must instead roll equal to or under their Strength on a D6 or suffer a wound (a roll od 6 always counts as a failure). After the Graviton pulse weapon has been fired, leave the Blast marker in place. This area now counts as both difficult and dangerous terrain for the next turn thanks to the gravity flux.

 please refer to their website for more details on the weaponry: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2013/08/40k-rumors-space-marines-tactical-box.html

Both weapons seem to be situational and have been drawn from the Horus Heresy series. It's nice to know a few old guns will make a reappearance.

We also know that the new Space Marine codex comes along with Apocalypse Warzone: Damnos - based on the Ultramarines vs. Necrons concept. Not a bad idea for two Ward armies pitted against one another.

 New Space Marine Librarian and Captain models are coming out too, along with a new tactical squad.

Moving on we have the Hunter/Stalker Anti Aircraft Tanks:

You can't go wrong with the Rhino chassis and this model does not look half as bad. You can switch between two choices of weapons and from what we are told so far its capable of blasting Heldrakes out of the sky so maybe we will be seeing more of them once they get released.

Of course there's more to come and we will update you as soon as we can on more news. Let us know what you think in the comments below:

1000 point Imperial Guard with Daemon Allies vs Necrons

Daemonic Wargamer and I make a great team. We fought against a Dark Angel and CSM alliance and claimed an overwhelming victory despite all odds. Admittedly, he is the better player but he's a greater team player. Today we were challenged by Poon, a Necron player, to a game of 1000 points. Ok so slightly over 1k since we let him have a second overlord on a barge and he's a rookie. Daemonic's daemons aren't exactly finished yet with only two squads of beautifully painted bloodletters complete and a bloodthirster on its way. So he went as my allied detachment for today's match. Since he was trying his daemons for the first time, I too experimented with a new type of army..

The IG: Armoured Battle Group... An army purely dedicated to tread heads like me who have an addiction for tanks and all things tracked and armoured. Imperial Armour Volume 1 is where you'll find the rules for this type of army and they use mostly the same stuff as your standard Codex:IG except tanks can be taken as troops. So I went with several tanks - ok three to four tanks. The grey ones in the pic above.  One command vanquisher as a HQ with instakill blast template beast hunter shells and the rest demolishers and vanilla russes.

We rolled for deployment and got Dawn of War, and Purge the Alien - so basically it was time to go on a rampage and rack up as many unit kills as possible.

 So he got to set up first and he assembled all his Immortals and the Overlord in a ruined building set on top of a hill. During the terrain set up, he already set up a small defensive perimeter on a small little hill so it was no surprise that when he got to deploy, not only would he deploy some units in that small circumference... but he deployed almost all of them.

He ended up sticking his units in the small plateau on the left as seen below. Well ok the pic below is after the first turn but still you get the general idea. Only thing we killed that round was three immortals who did not rez, and a wraith. - lets get back to that later.

So his first turn was spent getting his guys behind the cover you see in the picture above and well it became horrible for him when he realised he wasn't in range for his tesla guns to have any effect on either demons or tanks. He refrained from doing anything in the assault phase and ended his turn.

So then it became our turn. Daemonic Wargamer had a few bloodletters and a bloodthirster (the sisters of battle walker was used as a proxy) on the board who moved up as far as possible and since he had no ranged attacks he could only hope he wasn't going to get shot to bits.

I got frantically obsessed with these things the minuite Daemonic Wargamer deployed them and went on a bit of a fangirl mode so you'll probably see more pictures of then than you will of anything else.

Amyways whilst he moves up, I fired away with my tanks. The Vanquisher's coaxial hit one wraith allowing me to twin link the main gun. I decided to take the opportunity to use its Str 8 AP2 Instant Death Beast Hunter Shells for the first time and I was not disappointed. Poor Poon lost a valuable close combat unit after failing his invulnerable save. The poor wraith never stood a chance with its two wounds. The russes that could see any of the remaining wraiths went straight for them and managed to wound the other two. Any other russ attempted to empty their shells on the immortals in the building or the unassembled lynchguards hiding behind a rock.

The invisible lynch:

The lynch got lucky. The five shot were all sucesffully rezzed. The immortals however, not so much, out of the five that died, two got back and the other three were out of the game.

The bloodthirster made its final move and plopped right into the little perimeter that the necrons made. The bloodletters popped a little bit closer as well.

Then came Poon's second turn. The bloodthirster in his base was clearly a dangerous threat and he immediately focused 90% of his forced on the damn thing - tesla rounds and the lord's weapons combined with a newly entered Triach Stalker all of which ended up leaving poor bloodthirster with two wounds left. Pretty bad round of shooting for the metal robots but damn good saves on Daemonic's behalf. Then whatever was left shot at the bloodthirsters, who shrugged the rounds off with their inulnerable saves. Since everything fired, there was no assault phase and Poon seemed to forget about his lynchguards.

Then came our second turn. A few demons came in from reserve to deal with the inmortals.

The Demolisher targeted a second wraith and nuked its ass with the Str 10 Ap 2 round, whilst the Vanquisher punched its way into the Triach who stood dangerously close to the Bloodthirster - thankfully it didnt go kaboom just yet or the damage may have rubbed off another wound on the Daemon HQ. We couldn't leave it standing there though and had to see it off this turn before it could thrash the Bloodthirster with its gun. The other russes focused on a few troops who stood along the perimeter of the line and thrashed rought eight troops. The executioner emptied its plasma on the lynch to make things easier for the newly deepstriked bloodletters. 

It only got better as I sucessfully killed the overlord who failed his attempt at ressurection. 

The destruction wasn't over yet. The bloodthirsters sucesfully made their way through difficult terrain and towards the last wraith, who was down to a single wound. The bloodthirster closed in on the stalker, hoping to wreck it before it would be its bane. The stalker didn't stand a chance and got wrecked immediately as it was already on its last hull point. 

The bloodletters however lost two of their boys before finally crushing the wraith beneath a torrent of attacks. 

The bloodletters that deepstriked handled whatever was left from the executioner's shots of the lynchguard and proceede to hack them to bits with a multitude of dice.

Then the poor Poon was already at odds. Outranged and hammered by the tanks and having a tough time wrestling the daemons he had yet to destroy a single unit. He managed to roll his second Overlord who rode atop a barge - and for the first time in the game he fired at my Demolisher who happened to be the closest available tank, but sadly he came to realise just how hard AV14 really was. 

His realisation came a bit too late. The remaining necrons vigoursly poured firepower into the oncoming daemons to no avail, removing only two more bloodletters from the board and nothing more could be done for his assault phase. The lynchguard were already all wiped out so that left him with pretty much inevitable doom.

So once again I fired away with my Leman Russes, destroying the lord's barge with the combination of vanquisher an demolisher and taking away a wound on the overlord when it exploded.

The other russes poured firepower onto the buidings and sucessfully wiped out four more - the others got cover saves or were rezzed.

The daemons moved up, with the bloodletters an the thirster engaging the immortals who were on the bottom floor and proceeded to beat his ass. The lynchguard slayers raced up the hill to join their comrades in the feeding frenzy. Needless to say only the overlord and a second squad remained

Turn 3, 

The overlord charged the bloodthirster but despite dealing it one wound, it was a suicide run and achieved little else. The one remaining squad on the building failed to do much and eventually he surrendered - by that time his side of the board looked like this:

So as you can tell, it was an overwhelming victory with not a single unit loss on our side and a mountain of dead metallic corpses rotting from their side. Albeit Poon is still a rookie at Necrons so he had yet to realise how to maximise the potential his units had, not to mention severely bad rolls. Overall it was another good game - the first game we went through without any units being lost!

More to come so stay tuned to King Tiger Wargaming's blog to find out more!

Comments are welcome!